We swap counting grains of sand for Barrah Tribord Toute in Wadi Rum, a sea of flakes and small edges in the sandstone of Barrah Canyon, Jordan.
Counting grains of sand didn’t sound all that appealing, so we went to have a look at a route opened in 2007, not far from Star of Abu Judaiah: Barrah Tribord Toute. We’d picked up the topo from the guestbook at the Rest House.
And we were glad we did! The route takes the slab to the right of the Dégage Cancer crack, through a whole sea of edges that often turn into flakes. Superb pitches in a completely different style from everything we’d climbed in Wadi Rum so far. Well worth the detour!
The pitches
- P1 — 6c, 35 m. Either start up the Dégage Cancer chimney or walk round and start 10 metres higher.
- P2 — 6b, 45 m. A long 6b with two harder overlaps, each with a single move in the 6c/7a range.
- P3 — One 7b move, then 6a+, 30 m. A stiff overlap right off the belay, then it eases.
- P4 — 6b, 50 m. A long pitch if you skip the intermediate belay at 25 metres.
Outside the well-protected cruxes, the bolts are 5–6 metres apart. It pays to be comfortable on 6b. The route is equipped, and on our visit a dozen quickdraws and three long slings were enough, including for a few extra threads. The topo suggested three Camalots, but I didn’t see anywhere to place them!
Some of the fixed thread cord was already looking tired. I made a note to bring a knife and cord thin enough for the drilled threads, which were 7 mm across.
The descent
There are two options: finish up Dégage Cancer, taking the gear for it, and descend as for Sundown, or abseil the route. We chose the latter and made four abseils, skipping the same belay we’d skipped on the way up. Clipping a few bolts helps you reach the belay you’re aiming for. From there we used the ascent belays.
The sandstone is abrasive, so it’s worth avoiding big swings! There was also an offset anchor above and left of the 7b move, about 5 metres higher and 10 metres to the left: a sling through a thread with a quick link.
Practical Info / Route Topo
The pitches
- P1 — 6c, 35 m. Either start up the Dégage Cancer chimney or walk round and start 10 metres higher.
- P2 — 6b, 45 m. A long 6b with two harder overlaps, each with a single move in the 6c/7a range.
- P3 — One 7b move, then 6a+, 30 m. A stiff overlap right off the belay, then it eases.
- P4 — 6b, 50 m. A long pitch if you skip the intermediate belay at 25 metres.
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